Sourdough Bread is in the oven

Got my sourdough bread in the oven and man it smells sooooo goooooood. I'll get ya some pics just as soon as it comes out. Not been much going on here on the farm the last few days so not much to post about. Just been cold and been taking care of all the animals. Having to carry water several times a day so they will always have fresh water to drink. Goat kids are growing like crazy, 3 weeks old now. Lou Lou has still not had her kids yet. She is getting a lot bigger though and has a huge milk sack. Maybe soon. I'll get you some pictures of this bread tomorrow and let you know how it tastes. If it's as good as it smells I better be quick with the camera, it'll go fast. Talk to you all soon.

KPN Post

I'm posting over at Kentucky Preppers Network today in a post titled Off Guard and Off Grid. I would like to invite you all over to take a look. Comments are of course always appreciated. Posting as The Scavenger as always.

Thanks,

Chris

Helping out

I'm gonna be helping out over at Kentucky Preppers Network a little. Sharing what little I can about preparedness and such. Their asking folks that live in this area to help out with the blog and I'm gonna do all I can to help. I encourage all of ya to check in with your states preppers network and try to lend a hand, I know they'll appreciate it. There's a lot of things to prep for if ya ask me, natural disasters, financial disasters ( I've got experience with that one big time,lol), civil unrest, food storage and many many more. I feel that we all need to answer the call for help for these prepper networks, it's just the "Christian thing to do" as Larry the Cable Guy would say. I'll still be posting here as always, maybe not quite so often at first so please bear with me. I'll keep ya informed of all the goin's on here on the farm and all that crazy other stuff ya'll seem to get a kick out of. I'll be gettin back at ya soon.

American Preppers Network Formed

Someone has had the insight to establish the American Preppers Network. This is a network of Preparedness minded people from all over. There are already Prepper Networks in Kentucky, Utah, Texas, Ohio and Idaho with many more on the way. If you live in any of these states the preppers network is looking for your input. And for the many states yet to be formed people are needed to take over those networks too. Follow the link for American Preppers Network to see if there is a Preppers Network in your state and let them know you want to help. These networks provide all types of emergency preparedness information for all to benefit from.

You all know that there seems to be a common understanding that hard times are headed our way like it or not. The weather man can tell me it's not going to rain but if I feel a strong wind and I can see dark clouds on the horizon, I know better. I have my umbrella and my rubber boots close by because I chose to be informed by those who are not part of any hidden agenda ( one that they don't even try to hide anymore it seems). The signs are all around us and it's time we all took note of the situation that we are living in today. I know most of you have the means to get yourselves prepared for the uncertain future that awaits us. Well, it's time to get prepared folks, like it or not. Look for your states Preppers Network and see if there is something there that may be of use to you and your family. I know that we all want whats best for our families and we will do whatever it takes to insure their safety, this is a step in the right direction for us all. Get involved with the Preppers Network in your area and let's all stay safe and prepared.

Back at Bread Again

Well, I'm a bread lover. Just about any and every kind of bread will do. Found a good Sourdough Bread recipe over a Hallland 1896 and wanted to give it a try. Liv and Savannah also like Sourdough Bread too, so it's a win win for me. Just got my starter mixed and now it's wait and see time. Looking pretty good so far, it's working away. If you're interested in learning to make this Sourdough Bread Starter jump over to Hallland 1896 and give it a look. Come on, you know you want to. I'll keep ya posted as to my results.

A few experiments in alternative energy

Alternative energy is something that is always on my mind. I of course want/need to find ways to do this on the cheap. If you are a regular reader of this blog you know I always try to find the cheapest and most efficient solution to any problem I have. I have been reading a lot of the posts over at Dragon's blog. He has a really nice set up that he has put together on a small budget. He has also coined a new phrase "The Re-Volt". Dragon's system is mostly a 12vdc system. By using 12vdc devices you avoid loosing energy through the use of an inverter. There are many things you can purchase that use 12vdc. 12vdc electric blanket is one that I thought was great! Check Dragon's post and links for more very informative 12vdc systems.

I have a few things that can be used to generate some alternative energy too. One being a small solar panel that I took off of my solar electric fence charger. Here it is while in the sun and hooked up to my new meter. In the sun producing 11.71 amps.

OK, so how can I use this? I just happen to have a lawn mower battery that has a very low charge. Here you can see it's reading 5.52 vdc rather than the 12vdc a fully charged battery should read.

I hooked the solar panel to the battery. Placing the meter between the positive leads.




A reading of 4.50 amps are entering the battery through the solar panel.



This reading is made with the solar panel attached and not much sun at this time. You can see that the power from the battery and the solar panel combined are now 10.13 volts. After charging for a few hours I will take another reading to see what the battery alone reads. Update!! 1 1/2 hours later--no sun, nearly total cloud cover and the battery now reads 7.59 volts. The small solar panel is charging the battery. I have not charge controler so I will have to keep close check on it. That is good news for sure.

Another project that may be of use is the cordless drill motor/generator. This is just a motor taken from a cordless drill. I had a blower wheel that I think I got from an old air conditioner. Attached the blower wheel to the motor shaft with a wooden dowel rod. Not the best set up but it was what I had at the time, so... I then took the rig over the the overflow from my pond. This overflow runs year round. By placing the wheel, which is now the turbine, so that the water passes over the turbine thus turning it, I can produce a small amount of dc power. A very small amount is all I was able to get from this. 0.15 amps. I will be doing a lot more work on this set up. I know that Dragon uses this as a wind turbine and gets good results from it but I don't get much wind. The overflow runs year round though and may be the best for me.

Cold & Goat Pictures

Spent most of the day caring for the goats and chickens. Carrying water mostly. It was a great day to own coveralls for sure, couldn't make it without 'em in this weather. Took of few pictures of the goats while I was out too.

Eve is so photogenic, ain't she a pretty thing?

I see where the goats milk is going. That's ok, nothing better for the kids.

Eve just had to turn around for one more picture. hehe!! You can see where I put plastic over the front of the little barn.

Eve and Scout investigating a water bucket.

And the Chief, our pygmy buck and the father of the kids.

Chief's little house. This is Katie's summer playhouse that I bought at the flea market for 10 bucks. Works great for goat housing in the winter. I don't think Chief cares much for the pink door though.